William H. Sullivan - Life and Career

Life and Career

Sullivan was born in Rhode Island. As Ambassador to Laos during Project 404, he had severe disagreements with the military over the secret war in that country. General William Westmoreland and other officers felt that Sullivan severely damaged the overall war effort. In the early 1970s, Sullivan participated in peace negotiations between the United States and North Vietnam.

During Sullivan's tenure as Ambassador to Iran, he played an important role in communicating America's directives to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the second and last Pahlavi king. In the 1970s, America had unusually high military and economic links with Iran. However, in early 1978, growing unrest due to inflation and other economic hardships fueled by the growing tide of fundamentalist Islam led to demonstrations against the Shah. On February 1, 1979, the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Tehran and on April 1, 1979, Iran officially became an Islamic state.

Throughout the revolution in Iran, Sullivan served as chief American diplomat and primary messenger between the administration of President Jimmy Carter and the Shah. Sullivan felt strongly early on that America should abandon its support of the Shah and move to form an alliance with Khomeini. He wrote in his autobiography: "I had recommended that we accept the fact that a revolution was in progress and seek to use our not inconsiderable influence to steer its success toward its more moderate protagonists." This view, however, was not shared by Washington. As the revolution gained momentum, Sullivan became increasingly opposed to America's policy, becoming insolent and carrying out the President's directives half-heartedly or, in some instances, not at all. Carter later stated in an interview that Sullivan was "specifically insubordinate" and that he should have fired Sullivan, but was dissuaded to do so by Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. Sullivan was replaced in the spring of 1979 by Charge' d'Affaires Bruce Laingen, who later became one of 52 Americans held hostage by militant Iranian students. In 1981, Sullivan published Mission to Iran, a memoir of his time as ambassador. His autobiography, Obbligato: Notes on a Foreign Service Career, was published in 1984. He is a father of 4 and grandfather of 6 and lives a quiet life in Washington, D.C.